Streamside Forests Help Protect Freshwater Sources
The scientists, at the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Pa., said the findings about streamside, or riparian, forests have large implications for the world's growing freshwater crisis. Currently, 20 percent of the planet's population lacks clean drinking water and more than 2.2 million people die each year from diseases transmitted by contaminated water and poor sanitation.
For some time, scientists and environmental policymakers have recognized the role that riparian forests play in filtering pollutants before they enter the stream. The new research shows, however, that such forests also protect the health of the stream itself by enhancing the ecosystem's ability to process organic matter and pollutants such as nitrogen.